Brilliant 'Wheat Free' Breakfast Suggestions . .

It is always a good idea to start the day with the juice of half a lemon in hot water to wake up your liver and digestion in a clean, healthy way. Drink this about 20 minutes before breakfast, you can also add ginger, to warm up or calm the digestion and/or cinnamon to sweeten and improve blood sugar balance. Try to include a good source of protein with your breakfast to keep you alert and maintain even energy levels. Vary breakfasts as much as possible to eat the full range of nutrients over the course of a week. Even if you manage a small amount or even eat a few nuts, it really is better than nothing at all, which can start your energy levels and blood sugar balance off to a very bad start and lead to cravings later in the day. Breakfast Suggestions: Boiled/poached egg on wholegrain bread. Wheat is okay as long as there’s no intolerance/allergy. Other alternatives include rye, spelt and rice. EnerG, The Village Bakery and Terence Stamp make delicious speciality breads available in supermarkets. The best gluten-free, yeast-free choices are Biona’s Buckwheat, Millet or Corn Lupin Breads, available in health food shops or from Spreads that are low in sugar and high in protein include tahini (sesame seed), nut or pumpkinseed butter and cottage cheese. Be imaginative and try avocado, goat’s cheese, watercress, spinach, alfalfa, anything you might eat at other times really. Bio or live full-fat yogurt (organic) with raw nuts and seeds (pumpkin and sunflower); to sweeten have berries which you can buy in frozen bags in supermarkets – defrost the night before and they will give off lots of juice after being frozen that adds to the flavour. Other fruits can be added too for variety. Gluten-free....Wholegrain muesli with nuts and live bio-yoghurt. Try an organic fruit yoghurt for variation - perhaps mixing with plain yoghurt if too sweet. If you are intolerant to wheat or gluten, by a gluten-free brand of Muesli or mix your own using buckwheat flakes or puffed quinoa, buckwheat or millet - available in health food shops. Consider making a fruit smoothie with milk (soya/rice/oat/almond). Remember to add protein in the form of nuts/seeds, silken tofu or even protein powder. Porridge...Make up porridge from oats/quinoa/rice/millet flakes with the milk of your choice topped with mixed ground seeds and berries, stewed apples and/or plums with cinnamon or sliced banana (or other fruit). Also try quinoa seeds (heirloom), which have the consistency of couscous. Sweet cinnamon...Cereal sweetening agents can include fresh or dried fruit (not too much dried) as can contain moulds and be high in sugar), fructoligosaccharide (shortened to FOS). FOS is fruit/vegetable fibre that provides food for the beneficial gut bacteria, encouraging their growth. It is widely available in health food stores or through a nutritionist, but can cause some initial bloating as it “cleans” out the gut. Juices such as apple juice in porridge or muesli, as used traditionally are good and cinnamon is very sweet tasting and actually helps to balance blood sugar levels. Whole Earth Organic tinned Baked Beans (contain no sugar and are sweetened with fruit juice) on wholegrain bread and go well with poached eggs or organic bacon as a weekend treat. Something fishy...Fish for breakfast is very traditional in England, especially smoked fish such as haddock or mackerel; you can even find a good kedgeree recipe with fish, eggs, rice, peas and Indian spices – a popular Victorian breakfast dish, modified from the Indian dish kigeree, used for cleansing in Ayurvedic medicine. You do not have to eat what is considered to be traditionally breakfast foods in the morning. This should be a hearty meal to sustain energy throughout the day and foods such as the lentil curry dhal are wonderful eaten in the morning. Avocado, feta cheese, hummus or tahini on crackers, rice or corn cakes are also good for waking up to.You can make your own healthy breakfast (or snack) flapjacks if very busy in the morning. You can use just a little honey or maple syrup to sweeten with the most sweetness supplied by apple, apple juice, dried apricots and cinnamon. Choosing a Cereal Choose a wholegrain cereal rather than a highly processed one, which has had the natural goodness removed. After processing certain vitamins and minerals then have to be added back by law. There is, of course, a massive loss in quality of these and of fibre. Removing the fibre makes a cereal easier and quicker for the body to digest, giving you a quick burst of energy but leaving you hungry by mid-morning. Even if not wheat intolerant, vary the amount you eat with more oat-based cereals such as the “oat crunchy” varieties; just be careful of the amount of added sugar. They can be very sweet and it can help to load them up with extra nuts and seeds – this can be true of any cereal, so that you increase the protein content and lower the overall ratio of sugar. You can even make your own “oat crunchy”, by toasting or baking oats rolled in Wholegrains release their energy more slowly and provide more essential oils, fibre, vitamins, minerals and have less additives. Cereal products such as muesli and oat crunchies provide real wholegrains and are more likely to include other healthy ingredients such as nuts, seeds and fruit. There may also be an organic version with fewer additives. They can still be high in sugar though, so compare labels. If bran suits your gut, then, All-Bran is less refined than the other processed cereals. Additional ingredients...Packet cereals are high in carbohydrate, which we need for energy, but the sugars are released fairly quickly so they are not an ideal balanced meal to start the day with on their own. Protein is also needed to keep our energy levels stable, combat fatigue, stop cravings for sugar and caffeine and for every aspect of the body’s function; it is found in nuts and seeds, eggs, milk and meat. Unprocessed cereals naturally contain more protein than refined ones and having live yoghurt instead of milk adds more protein and is healthier for the digestion and the immune system. A less processed cereal will be tastier with yoghurt and keep a good texture. The cereal itself does not need sugar; it is easy, tasty and very beneficial to add a chopped banana, dried fruit or even FOS (see above). Adding sugar to cereal is a habit that can you can gradually wean yourself off. Choosing a less processed cereal is an excellent step towards better health. Avoid “added” or “fortified with vitamins and minerals”Usually if a food carries this label it is an indication that the food has been processed to an extent that vitamins and minerals have been lost and some must be added back to satisfy the minimum legal requirements. Try and stick to food in as natural a state as possible for maximum intake of nutrients and fibre. Recipes for Wheat-Free Breakfast Cereal Alternatives Bircher Muesli Serves 4 Prep: 5 mins plus overnight soaking 150g/5 half oz rolled oats – can use buckwheat flakes if gluten intolerant 225ml/8 fl oz apple juice 1 apple, grated125ml/4 fl oz natural yoghurt 1 punnet of blackberries or other berries (can buy frozen) 2 plums, stoned and sliced - Put the oats and apple juice in a bowl and mix well, cover and refrigerate overnight. To serve, remove oats from the ‘fridge and mix in the grated apple and yoghurt, divide between 4 bowls and top with the blackberries. Gluten-free Apple Muesli By making your own muesli, you can choose your favourite grains, seeds, nuts and fruit, so feel free to adapt the recipe as preferred. Soaking the muesli for 30 minutes – or overnight if liked – in dairy-free milk or yogurt helps to soften the grains. The traditional Swiss way is too eat it with apple juice. 10 portions 75 g/23/4 oz sunflower seeds 50 g/13/4 oz pumpkin seeds 90 g/31/4 oz shelled hazelnuts, roughly chopped 125 g/41/2 oz buckwheat flakes 125 g/41/2 oz rice flakes 125 g/41/2 oz millet flakes115 g/4 oz no-soak dried apple, roughly chopped 115 g/4 oz dried stoned dates, roughly chopped - Heat a dry frying pan over a medium heat, add the seeds and hazelnuts and lightly toast, shaking the pan frequently, for 4 minutes, or until golden-brown. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and leave to cool. - Add the flakes, apple and dates to the bowl and mix thoroughly until combined. Store the muesli in an airtight jar or container. Crunchy Muesli Ingredients 200g (7oz) rolled oats or buckwheat flakes (or mixture) 25g (1oz) pumpkin seeds 25g (1oz) sunflower seed Mother Grain Munchie Ingredients 100 g Quinoa 2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 pt Water /2pt Soya milk 1 cinnamon stick Garnish/Seasoning: Honey or Brown Sugar - Pour the water into a saucepan. Add the quinoa and cinnamon. - Stir the mixture over a med heat and allow to cook for 10 mins or until the water has been absorbed by the quinoa. -Serve the quinoa into bowls, pour on soya milk. Add honey or sugar to taste. - Sprinkle ½ tsp cinnamon over each dish. Add cinnamon stick if desired. So, you get the idea and now you can mix, pick and choose any of the above and change to your taste. There are loads of different ingredients to add, try different combinations of: Cinnamon Nutmeg Dried apple Dried apricot - unsulphuredCoconut – unsweetened, flakes or dessicated Orange and lemon zest and peelVarious dried fruits All varieties of nuts Different grains; millet, amaranth, rye, buckwheat (actually a grass), quinoa (actually a seed!) Puffed versions of the above are available in healthfood shops – puffed quinoa is the best protein source and good for those avoiding grains Fresh fruit to add Frozen berries (in supermarkets) – good substitute for milks/yoghurt Molasses to sweetenFOS to sweeten Or anything else you fancy! 110g (4oz) mixed nuts – any mixture of almonds, macadamias, brazils , pecans, walnuts, pine kernels, hazelnuts – broken into bits 50g (2oz) dried cranberries 50g (2oz) dried apricots (or raisins/ sultanas) 125g (4oz) runny honey - Preheat the oven to 200C, 400F, Gas Mark 6.- Mix the oats, seeds, nuts and honey together in a large bowl so that everything is just coated in honey. - Tip the mixture into a roasting tin and bake for 15 mins, turning the mixture every 5 mins to ensure that the nuts do not burn and become bitter. - Remove, allow to cool and then add the dried fruits. This can be stored in an airtight container for up to a month. -To serve: spoon into bowls and serve with live, plain yoghurt. Alternatively soak overnight with soya milk, heat in the morning and eat with chopped banana. Mother Grain Munchie Ingredients 100 g Quinoa2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 pt Water 1/2pt Soya milk 1 cinnamon stick Garnish/Seasoning: Honey or Brown Sugar - Pour the water into a saucepan. Add the quinoa and cinnamon. - Stir the mixture over a med heat and allow to cook for 10 mins or until the water has been absorbed by the quinoa. -Serve the quinoa into bowls, pour on soya milk. Add honey or sugar to taste. - Sprinkle ½ tsp cinnamon over each dish. Add cinnamon stick if desired. So, you get the idea and now you can mix, pick and choose any of the above and change to your taste. There are loads of different ingredients to add, try different combinations of: Cinnamon Nutmeg Dried appleDried apricot - unsulphured Coconut – unsweetened, flakes or dessicated Orange and lemon zest and peel Various dried fruits All varieties of nuts Different grains; millet, amaranth, rye, buckwheat (actually a grass), quinoa (actually a seed!) Puffed versions of the above are available in healthfood shops – puffed quinoa is the best protein source and good for those avoiding grains Fresh fruit to add Frozen berries (in supermarkets) – good substitute for milks/yoghurt Molasses to sweetenFOS to sweeten Or anything else you fancy!